Forrest J. Ackerman, Dec. 4, age
92: Ackerman is widely credited with coining the term "sci-fi," and
throughout a long, colorful career gave great support to the genre. He was
credited with discovering writer Ray Bradbury, and also founded the niche-y but
wildly influential
... moremagazine Famous Monsters of Filmland. He became a literary
agent, representing Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and other influential science
fiction writers, and was credited as an influence to many others, like Ray
Harryhausen, L. Ron Hubbard and Ed Wood. He also famously amassed an enormous
collection of valuable science fiction memorabilia in his Los Angeles home, and
would often open his house to fans to show off pieces of his collection (much to
the consternation of his beloved wife). He appeared in bit parts in science
fiction films for decades, including Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. He once said
the term "sci-fi" came to him in the mid-'50s when he was listening to the radio
and heard an announcer mention the word "hi-fi." "My dear wife said, 'Forget it,
Forry,'" he recalled, "'it will never catch on.'" Happily for us all, she was
wrong.
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